For the first five years, I really had to remind myself where I was when I
returned,” Courtney said.
They have also seen their fair share of ‘out of the box’ medical
situations and solutions.
Sarah recalls a situation where they had a patient who required a splint,
but there were none available. They noticed there was a maintenance
man outside, working on some new structures so the approached him
about making a splint. They explained what they needed and the man
returned with something he had fashioned fit for purpose.
On one of her first missions to Vietnam, Courtney remembers walking
past the ICU in the hospital where they had set-up, and seeing an old
lady was being manually ventilated by a family member. It is something
that takes years of training for an ICU nurse in Australia, but in this
situation, there was simply no-one else available to do it.
“The challenges you face are actually really good for you,” Sarah said.
“Part of the reason I volunteered initially was to challenge myself. Get
out of my comfort zone, see pathology I would otherwise never see,
work with different people in places I would have never otherwise been,
and it was a really great experience. It makes you a better practitioner,”
Sarah said.
Courtney, a veteran of 12 missions, first volunteered so she could
continue to travel and use her skills to help people who really needed
it. She admits to now being slightly hooked and gets ‘itchy feet’ if she
hasn’t been on a mission for twelve months.
And while their reasons for volunteering were different initially, their
reasons for continuing are the same.
“It gives me as much as I give it; and it is not just the people you are
helping. It’s also the relationships you create with the other members of
the team you’re with. It is just so amazing that a group of people from
across the globe can come together and at the end of it you have helped
hundreds of children to eat, talk, go to school and be part of society. It
makes a huge impact,” Courtney said.
Sarah said that while she hasn’t been for a couple of years, she
definitely intends to go again.
“While I really enjoy the challenge of thinking on your feet and working
outside your comfort zone, it is also that the work is just so worthwhile.
It makes such a difference to people, they are so grateful and you realise
how lucky you are living where we do,” said Sarah.
If volunteering is something you think you would like to do Interplast
and Operation Smile are also keen to hear from potential volunteers.
You can visit their websites at https://www.interplast.org.au/ or
http://operationsmile.org.au/ to learn more or to donate.
Pindara Magazine 27
PAGE 25: COURTNEY ALLAN AND PATIENT
LEFT: MEDICAL VOLUNTEER ENTERTAINS
WAITING CHILDEREN
TOP: GRATEFUL MOTHER AND CHILD
CENTRE: SARAH GOETZ GETTING HANDS
ON IN THEATRE
BOTTOM: MOTHER WITH HER CHILD IN
RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY
pindaramagazine.com.au